State: Kansas representatives illustrate divide over farm bill

The chasm over the farm bill in Congress is no more evident than in Kansas where six conservative Republicans from an agriculture state are divided on the issue.

On Thursday, the farm bill failed in the U.S. House, splitting the Kansas delegation.

U.S. Reps. Lynn Jenkins, of Topeka, whose district includes Lawrence, and Kevin Yoder, of Overland Park, voted for it, while Mike Pompeo, of Wichita, and Tim Huelskamp, of Hutchinson, were among the 62 Republicans who voted against it. The bill failed in the House, 195-234.

Jenkins blamed the failure in the House on the inability to find common ground.

" … still too many Democrats and Republicans allowed politics to trump progress, and chose to defeat this bipartisan effort. I am truly disappointed by today's vote to accept a badly broken status quo," she said.

The Senate has approved a farm bill, but Kansas' senators were on opposite sides. Jerry Moran voted for it and Roberts opposed it.

In the House, Republicans voting against the bill argued it was too expensive. Most Democrats opposed the measure because it included cuts to food stamps that would have removed as many as 2 million recipients from getting assistance.

The Senate version decreased food stamps by about one-fifth of the House bill. The White House had said it supported the Senate bill and would have vetoed the House bill.